Conservation biology
Study of threats to biological diversity
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We include updates on Endangered species, De-extinction, Keystone species, Lazarus taxon, Charismatic megafauna, Monotypic taxon, Colossal Biosciences, Wildlife corridor, Habitat fragmentation, Bioindicator, Captive breeding, Camera trap, Source–sink dynamics, Gene pool, Flagship species, Rewilding ... and more.
| 2025 |
Lazarus taxon
Omilteme cottontail was rediscovered in the Mexican state of Guerrero, after previously only being known from holotype specimens collected in 1904.
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| April 2025 |
De-extinction
Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences and Zoological Survey of India announce plans to revive and rewild the Indian cheetah through genome editing, using African cheetahs as surrogates.
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| April 2025 | Colossal used cloning and gene-editing to birth three genetically modified wolf pups: six-month-old males Romulus and Remus, and two-month-old female Khaleesi, based on dire wolf genome research. |
| April 2025 | Colossal announced the birth of two cloned red wolf litters from three different genetic founder lines, including three male wolf pups (Blaze, Cinder, and Ash) and one adolescent female wolf (Hope). |
| April 7 2025 |
De-extinction
Colossal Biosciences announces the birth of three genetically modified wolf pups with anatomical features approximating dire wolves, though not using actual ancient dire wolf DNA.
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| March 2025 |
De-extinction
Colossal Biosciences, founded by George Church and funded by Ben Lamm, announced the birth of woolly mice with mammoth-like traits such as cold tolerance and long, shaggy fur, indicating progress towards mammoth de-extinction.
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| March 2025 | Colossal created gene-edited 'woolly mice' with mutations inspired by woolly mammoths, featuring long, shaggy, tawny-toned fur. |
| 2025 | Colossal was voted one of the best places to work in Dallas, Texas, U.S. by Builtin. |
| March 2025 | Colossal announced the creation of gene-edited 'woolly mice' with mammoth-inspired mutations, featuring long, shaggy, tawny-toned fur, as a step toward engineering mammoth-like Asian elephants. |
| 2025 |
De-extinction
Tauros Programme and Rewilding Europe plan to release recreated aurochs-like cattle into select areas of Europe and seek protected wildlife species status.
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| 2025 |
De-extinction
Original goal for passenger pigeon de-extinction captive breeding missed.
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| January 2025 |
De-extinction
Colossal Biosciences and University of Melbourne claim to have developed an artificial marsupial womb to advance thylacine de-extinction and marsupial conservation efforts.
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| January 2025 | Colossal sequenced the complete genome of the Tasmanian tiger and created a prototype artificial uterus that successfully cultured marsupial embryos past halfway through pregnancy. |
| January 2025 | Colossal secured $200 million in Series C funding, bringing its total valuation to $10.2 billion and becoming Texas' first decacorn. The company has raised $435 million in total funding since its foundation. |
| 2024 |
Lazarus taxon
Egyptian population of spotted hyena was rediscovered, after being presumed extirpated for 5000 years.
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| 2024 |
Lazarus taxon
Montreal melon replanted after being preserved in a seed bank.
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| 2024 | Colossal successfully produced the first-ever elephant and dunnart induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). |
| 2024 | A comprehensive paper was published offering a broad study of rewilding guidelines and interventions, further advancing the academic understanding of rewilding methodologies. |
| 2024 |
De-extinction
BioRescue Team and Colossal Biosciences plan to implement 30 northern white rhinoceros embryos, using egg cells from Najin and Fatu and preserved sperm from deceased male individuals, to be implanted into female southern white rhinoceros.
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| 2024 |
De-extinction
Nuclear genome of the Bluebuck was sequenced by University of Potsdam and Colossal Biosciences.
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| 2024 |
De-extinction
The planted seed, named Sheba, reached maturity and is believed to be a potentially new species of Commiphora, possibly the ancient Judean balsam with legendary healing properties.
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| December 2024 | Colossal and University of Melbourne began research into engineering immunity to chytridiomycosis, a lethal fungal disease affecting amphibians. |
| October 2024 | Colossal launched the Colossal Foundation, a non-profit initiative, and the Colossal Biovault to collect and store tissue samples of endangered species, initially focusing on 12 critically endangered species. |
| October 2024 | Colossal announced $50 million in funding for the launch of the Colossal Foundation. |
| October 2024 | Colossal rebuilt a 99.9% accurate genome of the thylacine using a 110-year-old fossilized Tasmanian tiger skull, creating the most complete ancient genome to date. |
| October 2024 |
De-extinction
Colossal claims to have reconstructed a 99.9% complete thylacine genome from a 110-year-old preserved skull, though data remains unpublished.
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| October 2024 |
De-extinction
Revive & Restore collaborated with Applied Ecological Institute to simulate forest disturbances in Wisconsin, testing potential ecological impacts of reintroduced passenger pigeons.
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| October 2024 |
De-extinction
Colossal Biosciences launched their Colossal Foundation, with a project focusing on the conservation and potential revival of the vaquita.
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| October 2024 |
De-extinction
Colossal Biosciences announces the Colossal Foundation, which includes the ivory-billed woodpecker as one of its conservation and potential de-extinction projects.
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| September 2024 |
Resurrected species
The Commiphora seed named Sheba, estimated to be over 1000 years old, successfully germinated and reached maturity, potentially representing the biblical tsori or Judean balsam with reported healing properties.
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| July 2024 | The first-ever mRNA vaccine for elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV) was administered to an elephant, developed by Colossal, the Houston Zoo, and the Baylor College of Medicine. |
| May 2024 | Colossal and the University of Melbourne successfully engineered cane toad toxin resistance in marsupial cells to aid in conservation efforts for the northern quoll. |
| April 2024 | Colossal launched Breaking, a plastic degradation startup that discovered X-32, a microbe capable of breaking down plastics in 22 months. |
| April 15 2024 |
De-extinction
Revive & Restore, a non-profit organization, announced the early stages of potential de-extinction plans for the Xerces blue butterfly species.
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| March 2024 | Colossal and Re:wild established a 10-year conservation strategy to save species on the brink of extinction and restore key habitats. |
| 2023 |
De-extinction
Continued importation of African cheetahs to India as part of the ecological restoration efforts.
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| 2023 |
Lazarus taxon
Victorian grassland bearded dragon (Tympanocryptis pinguicolla), feared extinct since 1969, was rediscovered.
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| 2023 |
Lazarus taxon
De Winton's golden mole was rediscovered in western South Africa, after last being seen in 1937.
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| 2023 |
Lazarus taxon
Fagilde's trapdoor spider (Nemesia berlandi) rediscovered after being presumed lost for decades
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| 2023 |
Lazarus taxon
Big puma fungus (Austroomphaliaster nahuelbutensis) rediscovered after being unseen for decades, representing a classic example of a Lazarus taxon.
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| 2023 |
Lazarus taxon
York groundsel replanted using seeds discovered in the Millennium Seed Bank.
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| 2023 |
Lazarus taxon
Pernambuco holly (Ilex sapiiformis) rediscovered in Igarassu, Pernambuco after being unseen since 1837.
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| 2023 | Andrea Papi was fatally attacked by a brown bear in Italy, marking the first modern human death caused by a wild bear in the country. This incident escalated tensions between local residents and wildlife conservation efforts in the Trentino province. |
| 2023 |
Resurrected species
Panagrolaimus kolymaensis, a nematode species frozen in Siberian permafrost since the Pleistocene era (approximately 46,000 years ago), was resurrected from cryptobiosis.
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| 2023 |
Resurrected species
Seeds from the Millennium Seed Bank successfully germinated and the York groundsel was reintroduced to its native range in York, marking the first successful resurrection and reintroduction of an extinct species.
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| 2023 | Company announces its goal to produce woolly mammoth hybrid calves by 2028 and reintroduce them to the Arctic tundra habitat. |
| 2023 | Launched the Tasmanian Thylacine Advisory Committee, a research project aimed at developing a plan to release Tasmanian tiger joeys back to their original habitats in Tasmania and broader Australia after a period of captive observation. |
| 2023 | Colossal was included in Time's 100 Most Influential Companies list. |
| 2023 |
De-extinction
The recently discovered female turtle was found dead, further diminishing the species' breeding prospects.
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| 2023 |
De-extinction
Seeds from the Millennium Seed Bank successfully germinated and the York groundsel becomes the first extinct species to be revived and reintroduced into its native range in York, England.
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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles De-extinction, List of resurrected species, Colossal Biosciences, Lazarus taxon & Rewilding, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.